After graduating from NYU in 1964 with a major in film, Martin Scorsese went on to direct some of the grittiest and most original films of all time. In a deluxe DVD 3-pack, Warner Home Video presents Essential Directors: Martin Scorsese, which includes the films THE DEPARTED, THE AVIATOR, and GOODFELLAS.

THE DEPARTED: Pure dynamite! The taut, terrific tale of two cops - one a lawman inside the mob, one a mob informant on the force.

THE AVIATOR: An epic tale and an epic life - the thrilling story of filmmaker, playboy, daredevil and aviation innovator Howard Hughes.

GOODFELLAS: The electrifying, fact-inspired tale of living - and dying - The Life.

"[GoodFellas] ...an incredible, relentless experience about the singleminded pursuit of crime.Desson Howe, The Washington Post"[Aviator] ...DiCaprio gives the finest, most complex performance of his career.Jeffrey Lyons, NBC-TV"[Departed] A new American crime classic from the legendary Martin Scorsese...Peter Travers, Rolling Stone"[Aviator] The best picture of the year! Filmmaking on a grand and rare scale.Richard Schickel, Time"[GoodFellas] The best mob movie ever.Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times"[Departed] ...a reminder of why we go to the movies in the first place.Scott Tobias, The Onion A.V. Club

Editor's Note

THE AVIATOR, THE DEPARTED and GOODFELLAS are the three Martin Scorsese films included on this collection. Please see individual titles for synopsis information.

Oscar, Robert Richardson, [Aviator] Best Achievement in Cinematography

Oscar, Sandy Powell, [Aviator] Best Achievement in Costume Design

Oscar, Thelma Schoonmaker, [Aviator] Best Achievement in Editing

Oscar, Cate Blanchett, [Aviator] Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Winner (1991)

Oscar, Joe Pesci, [GoodFellas] Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Professional Reviews

ReelViews 10 of 10[Departed] The Departed is a perfect example of why remakes shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. Director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter William Monahan have taken the B-grade Hong Kong crime flick Infernal Affairs and re-imagined it as an American epic tragedy. The original film was gritty and entertaining; the new version is a masterpiece - the best effort Scorsese has brought to the screen since Goodfellas (ending a decade-long drought of disappointments and near-misses). In making The Departed, Scorsese has retained the essential plot structure of Infernal Affairs but has transformed the movie into something truly his own...The Departed is as suspenseful as anything the director has previously achieved. This movie deserves mention alongside Scorsese's most celebrated movies: Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and The Age of Innocence. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10[Aviator] "The Aviator" celebrates Scorsese's zest for finding excitement in a period setting, re-creating the kind of glamor he heard about when he was growing up. It is possible to imagine him wanting to be Howard Hughes. Their lives, in fact, are even a little similar: Heedless ambition and talent when young, great early success, tempestuous romances and a dark period, although with Hughes it got darker and darker, while Scorsese has emerged into the full flower of his gifts...The movie achieves the difficult feat of following two intersecting story arcs, one in which everything goes right for Hughes and the other in which everything goes wrong. Scorsese chronicled similar life patterns in "GoodFellas," "Raging Bull," "The King of Comedy," "Casino," actually even "The Last Temptation of Christ." Leonardo DiCaprio is convincing in his transitions between these emotional weathers; playing madness is a notorious invitation to overact, but he shows Hughes contained, even trapped, within his secrets, able to put on a public act even when his private moments are desperate. - Roger Ebert

Reel.com 10 of 10[GoodFellas] The movie did well upon its release, but its longevity is what makes it a classic. As actor Joe Pesci points out, not a week goes by that the movie isn't on cable somewhere, and many of its scenes - and even its epic steadicam shots - have become legendary. Simply put, it is one of the most perfect movies ever made, so much so that the American Film Institute honored it as one of the top 100 films of all time...When you first watch GoodFellas, you don't necessarily realize that you're watching a classic, a masterpiece. The film is such good entertainment, so powerful and fast-paced, that it leaves no room for a viewer to sit back and contemplate; the audience is engaged with the movie and the characters from beginning to end. - Sarah Chauncey